105 



Ophisdrus PARiLis. Ricliurtlsoii. 



Opiiisurus rostellatus. Ricliavdson. 



Teeth slenderly subulate or acieular ; the nasal ones 

 standing on so narrow a disk as to appear clustered, with an 

 odd one in front; about nine in all. Vomerine teeth bi- 

 serial, numerous. Palatine teeth also biserial ; both the 

 rows even and pretty closely set ; those of the outer row 

 rather shorter, and inclined towards the corner of the 

 mouth ; the inner ones considerably inclined towards the 

 mesial line, and extending forwards to meet the vomerine 

 series at its commencement close to the nasal disk. Man- 

 dibular teeth biserial, extending from the symphysis to the 

 corner of the mouth ; the teeth in both rows inclined back- 

 wards ; those of the inner row more closely set, and even. 



Pectoral rather long, elliptical, acute. Dorsal com- 

 mencing over the posterior quarter of the pectoral, ending 

 with the anal close to the tip of the tail, both having pre- 

 viously expanded slightly, and being low throughout. 

 Lower jaw a little shorter than the u]iper one. Eye placed 

 over the middle of the mouth. Colour an unii'orm dull 

 brown, paler beneath. ( In spirits). 



Length 19 inches. To anus 615 inches. To gill-open- 

 ing ry inch. Length of gape 08 inch. 



Hai3. West Indies. Specimen in British Museum. 



Ophisurus dicellurus. Richardson. 



Ophhtirxs dicelhirm, Ricliardsoii, Ichtli. Voy. nf Sulph. p. 106, PI. 

 48, f. 2, 3, 4. Ee|iort to Brit. Ass. Ami. 1845, p. 312. 



The head is about as high as it is wide, but the body 

 becomes gradually more compressed towards the tail. 

 Snout bluntish, and very slightly passing the tip of the 

 lower jaw. Gill-openings lax, and approaching nearer 

 than usual in the genus to each other beneath. Teeth 

 slenderly subulate, not long, inclined backwards. Vomer- 

 ine teeth uniserial, larger, three in number. Palatine 

 teeth biserial. Mandibular ones biserial in front, uniserial 

 laterally. Pectoral ovate, acute, moderately large, sup- 

 ported by foin-teen rays : dorsal commencing over its tip, 

 and keeping at an equal height until near the end of the 

 tail, where it lowers, and then dilates, so as to form with 

 the anal, which is similar, an oval lobe, that rounds off 

 at the tip of the tail more suddenly than it rises. The last 

 rays of both fins are very short, and approach as near as 

 possible to the extreme point of the tail, but do not go 

 round it. The colour has faded in spirits, and if any 

 markings existed they are no longer discernible. Lateral 

 line distinct. 



Length 9'55 inches. To anus .3'84 inches. To gill- 

 opening 132 inch. 



Hab. Estuary of the Yang tze keang, China. 



I have not seen the Ophtsaius remiger of D'Orbigny, 

 which is a West Indian species, and resembles this one 

 much in the form of the tail. (D'Orbigny, Voy. dans 

 rAmerique merid. PI. 12, f. 2). 



The snout is narrow, but rounded and slightly dilated at 

 the end, exceeding the lower jaw very little. The nasal 

 disk is bordered anteriorly by five small, subulate, acute 

 teeth : a little farther back, on the mesial line, there is a 

 stouter tooth, which is very acute, and in front of it two 

 small subulate ones. The vomerine teeth are uniserial, 

 the row commencing by two tall subulate teeth like the 

 mesial vomerine one, with a small interval between them, 

 and followed by seven closer set, recurved, subulate teeth. 

 Palatine teeth biserial, the outer row being composed of 

 about eighteen widely set subulate teeth, which are tallest 

 near the middle of the gape, and become shorter and closer 

 near the corner of the mouth. The inner row consists of 

 twenty-eight more slender and very acute teeth, much in- 

 clined towards the mesial line and a little backwards, and 

 not reaching so far posteriorly as the outer row, but going 

 forwards to the nasal disk. Mandibular teeth biserial ; the 

 outer row more widely set, taller, and reaching from the 

 symphysis to the angle of the mouth ; the inner row re- 

 sembling the inner palatine one, but confined to the fore 

 quarter of the jaw, and terminating opposite the com- 

 mencement of the outer palatine row. The jaws are nar- 

 row and expand laterally, like those of inferlinciua, and in a 

 much less degree than those oiregius. The eyes are placed 

 in the middle of the large gape, and the interval between 

 them and the top of the head does not exceed the diameter 

 of the orbit. 7'he gill-openings are large. The pectoral 

 is oval and large : the dorsal commences just behind its 

 tip, is nowhere high, and lowers gradually to within three 

 lines of the tip of the tail, where it terminates. The anal 

 ends two lines from the tip, there being no previous ex- 

 pansion of either fin. Colour of the specimen kept in 

 spirits chestnut-brown. 



Length 3.3 inches. To anus 14-4 inches. To gill-open- 

 ing 3-50 inches. Length of gape ISo inch. 



Hab. Senegal. The Earl of Derby presented a speci- 

 men to the British Museum. 



Ophisurus compar. Richardson. 



The uniform brown colour of this species and of the fol- 

 lowing one, after immersion in spirits, and their general 

 form, renders them so like O. cancrivorus that an exami- 

 nation of the dentition becomes necessary for their dis- 

 crimination. 



Nasal disk armed with five short acute teeth, the odd 

 one in front. Vomerine teeth uniserial, the row somewhat 

 uneven, and the front pair close to the nasal disk standing 

 abreast. Twenty-two conico-subidate, acute, palatine 

 teeth, even and close set, ranged in a single somewhat un- 

 dulating series. Mandibular teeth small and low, also 

 conico-subulate and acute, numbering twenty-six on each 

 limb, uniserial laterally, biserial in front. The mouth is 

 small, the snout bluntish, and the lower jaw a little shorter. 

 Eye nearer to the angle of the mouth than to the tip of 



